Derrick Rose starting a good thing for the Detroit Pistons

Since inserting Derrick Rose into the starting lineup, the Detroit Pistons have almost been a different team.

Derrick Rose started the 2019-20 season on a minutes restriction. As a result, he came off the bench  for most of the first half of the season for the Detroit Pistons. This is despite being one of the most effective players on the roster.

In his 34 games off the bench, Rose has averaged 18.3 points, 5.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 26 minutes per game. He has shot the ball at 49.4/33.0/87.9, which is quite respectable. His plus/minus over these games is a surprising minus-0.4.

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Rose has now started six games, five in a row. He is averaging 20.0 points, 6.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 29 minutes per game. His slash line over these six games is 51.0/13.3/78.8. Interestingly, playing with the starters means his turnovers have dropped from 2.7 to 1.7 per game.

However, one of the games that Rose started was back in November where he came back in to the team after a four-game layoff and then missed the game afterwards. To say this game was not up to standard is an understatement. He had six points, five assists and three rebounds.

Taking this game out of his starting numbers makes a massive difference. In this stint as a starter Rose’s numbers take a leap upwards. He is averaging 24.0 points, 8.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 34.6 minutes per game. Interestingly his slash line is exactly the same without the November game. His plus/minus as a starter is plus-2.6 per game.

He is at his creative best, getting to the rim and the mid-range. Playing with the starters allows Rose to get to his spots and also with the better players fresh, they are hitting more shots, which helps his assist numbers. Rose is still struggling from deep, which should normalize to his career average of 30.5 percent.

However, what is more important is the Pistons are 3-2 in the time that Rose has started. They did welcome back Reggie Jackson for the last two games, but center Andre Drummond did not play in the 22-point victory over the Sacramento Kings, nor the 13-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Now that Jackson is back, coach Dwane Casey has some decisions to make. Rose in the starting line up is effective, as is Jackson. Rose is most effective with ball in hand, but the Pistons have invested in heavily in Jackson as their point guard.

Jackson has a greater ability to play off ball than Rose. When he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, he played the majority of his time off-ball. In that time he was assisted on 64.6 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Rose demands respect from opposition defenses; his ability to penetrate and create space for himself as well as others needs to be exploited as a starter. If he is able to build a platform with the rest of the starters, the bench can sustain rather play catch-up.

Thanks to the way the season has gone, the Detroit Pistons have been shopping Drummond for trade. Since having Rose in the starting lineup, the Pistons have either won every game or had a competitive loss.

While five games is a small sample size, the Pistons are still ninth in the Eastern conference, only 2½ behind the Brooklyn Nets and eighth place. There is still the possibility of making the playoffs this season; with Rose starting maybe they should try. They might be able to keep Drummond in free agency as a result, if he indeed opts out.